The pedigree of a cat, in essence, is an official extract from the pedigree book of a felinological organization in which cats are registered. This is the only document confirming the origin of a thoroughbred cat, and it is necessary for the competent breeding of high quality animals. Therefore, it is rightly believed that “there is no pedigree – there is no breed”, no matter how similar the cat looks to one of them.
Breed is not appearance, it is the quality of genetics, confirmed by an official document. It is impossible to determine the breed “by eye” and even more so from the photo! The veterinarian also cannot determine the breed, and this is not in his circle of knowledge. The determination of the breed is carried out exclusively by a felinologist, a judge with certain experience.
Studbooks are the basis of the felinological organization, starting with the kennel, the club, and ending with the international system. A breeder, a cattery, and a club that is part of the felinological system can issue a pedigree for their own cats.
The larger and more authoritative the felinological organization, the more cats registered in it, the more weighty its pedigree books, and hence the pedigrees, which have a greater degree of trust and recognition in the “cat world”. At the same time, the size of the organization does not depend on the use of the words “worldwide” or “international” in its name. Basically, the status is influenced by the age of the organization, reputation, prevalence, internal and external membership, the presence of its own standards and exhibitions. To date, there are about a dozen large felinological organizations in the world that have studbooks with hundreds of thousands of cats.
What should be reflected in the pedigree:
The emblem and name of the felinological organization (federation, club) that issued the pedigree, its address, phone number, e-mail;
Basic cat data: name, breeding number, gender, date of birth, breed name, color and its EMS code;
Full name of the breeder;
Data on the cat’s father and his ancestors up to the 3rd generation inclusive, which include the title, nickname, breeding number, EMS color code, date of birth, implanted microchip number;
Data on the mother of the cat and her ancestors (the same as for the father);
Date of issue of the pedigree, signature of the authorized person and seal of the club or federation;
Recently, various micro-fonts, watermarks, holograms, and barcodes have been used in pedigrees to provide counterfeit protection.